David Gledhill and Corin Sworn @ Castlefield Gallery

The Castlefield gallery presents an interesting body of work by David Gledhill and Corin Sworn in its current two-person show. At first the connection between the artists is unclear due to their very different subject matter and media, but the starting points for each project bear remarkable similarities. Both artists invite us to contemplate the personal imagery found in a family album and a set of slides respectively. David Gledhill discovered the album that became the inspiration for his p...

The Castlefield gallery presents an interesting body of work by David Gledhill and Corin Sworn in its current two-person show. At first the connection between the artists is unclear due to their very different subject matter and media, but the starting points for each project bear remarkable similarities. Both artists invite us to contemplate the personal imagery found in a family album and a set of slides respectively. David Gledhill discovered the album that became the inspiration for his project at a flea market, and Corin Sworn found her starting point (the set of slides) in a skip. The differences between their works are all the more interesting as we contemplate the diverse routes the artists travelled from such comparable origins.
This intrusion into the lives of others is reflected in the unsettling nature of the work. David Gledhill presents a series of paintings taken from the intimate family shots, too close for comfort for a group of strangers. The black and white stills are far removed from the jolly context they seem to portray, fitting when we consider that context to be the Cold War. Corin Sworn similarly offers the imagery of an unfamiliar author; the slides seem to portray the work of a clock maker. The artistâs monologue is disconcerting alongside the erratic slide show. For me, this installation is the most effective piece of the show, as it entices the viewer into the unknown world of the watchmaker with the enchanting images of this precise work.
Both artists offer a beautiful body of work, which lets us into the often-unsettling world of those unknown to us. This two-person exhibition, showing now until 19th December, in Manchesterâs Castlefield Gallery (situated behind Deansgate station) is well worth checking out.